Total Pageviews

ShareThis

Oct 31, 2011

Hey guys, just in time for Halloween..We've been given two codes for the PC version of The Haunted: Hell's Reach to give away to our readers! This kickass game combines over the shoulder style run and gun gameplay with furious, over the top violence. What's not to love? The game features you liberating areas from corruption and the forces of hell, and features a ton of awesome multiplayer options, including one in which you command the demonic forces against humans. Also, why fight the minions of hell alone? Coop all the way. The game is incredibly fun to play

All we ask you to do is leave a comment below on why you love Hell's Reach, and give us a like on Facebook while you're at it (Unless you're one of our awesome, loyal readers of course)! Winners will be notified this Friday via email. Check out a playthrough of one round of The Haunted: Hell's Reach after the break!

Looks like Laika, the Oregon based animation studio behind Coraline will be returning with a new feature next year called ParaNorman. According to the website, the boy (Who I'm assuming is called Norman) has an ability to speak with the dead, and has to use those powers to save his town from an ancient curse. Its looking absolutely amazing, using an even more refined version of the stop motion CG style present in Coraline. My only hope is that this new film will feature more likable and relatable characters, which I personally felt was the only issue that kept me from loving Coraline. Wait and see.

Photographer Carli Davidson has a special touch when it comes to capturing the derp! and warbagarbhl! of the animal kingdom. Her series here is called 'Shake', for some obvious reasons. She's put together a real showcase of a few canine pals in the most flattering of shots. Just be careful of the drool, some of these pups are messy. Check out the rest of the series, and Carli's other work, over at her website!

Gotye just recently released their newest Alt-Pop single, "Easy Way Out," featuring a really cool animated music video to accompany it. One thing to note about Gotye is that they usually get very creative with their music videos, working with various artists to give each track a very unique visual feel. Check out the music videos to two more of Gotye's catchy tracks: State Of The Art and Bronte after the break!

The animation dudes known as RedMinus explore the dangers of prolonged Nyan Cat Exposure. Symptoms may include rainbow vomit, status effects due to hanging out with Final Fantasy monsters, and Hellraiser cube exposure. Proceed at your own risk.

Check out their equally awesome Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 parody after the break!

Oct 30, 2011

How does Google celebrate Halloween? By putting up a really cool video on their front page! Did you expect any less? This stop motion video features the Google gang shaping 6 giant pumpkins into the 6 letters before the twilight hours, with the Google crew messing about and getting changed into costumes in the meantime. Some day the Awesome-Robo crew will make a halloween video on a more epic scale with 11 pumpkins spelling out the site, and a giant robot cat holding it up. But hey, until we can make that magic work we'll let Google use our idea.

Marvel presents the halloween edition of the show What The -- ?! hosted by one of the greatest things I may have ever seen: M.O.D.O.K dressed like Elvira. Watch the first creepy Halloween-themed post of the season. What yarns will he be telling? Will they scare you or make you laugh? Only one way to find out...Happy Halloween....

I thoroughly enjoyed the throwback humor of Italian Spiderman, which made fun of terrible foreign exploitation movies from the seventies. Looks like after a hiatus, the guys behind that show are returning with a brand new series featuring an international team of mystyery trying to fight off Nazis, dinosaurs and hilariously bad acting. And this time, it looks like their production budget just got way higher. We're looking forward to the first episodes premiere on Novermber 21.

Just in time for Halloween, Alessandro Bavari's eight minute vision of chaos takes viewers pretty much to well...Hell. This short is a mixed media project that is an even mix of surreal, nightmarish and apocalyptic. Over the course of eight minutes you'll watch a downward spiral unfold. If you hated those twitching, convulsing monsters from Silent Hill, you might want to skip on this one to avoid potential mental trauma. This is without a doubt, one of the most disturbing things we've ever seen since starting the blog.

This really cool high end cel shaded animation features the work of Ben Hibon, who created this piece for MTV Asia and the MTV Asia Music Awards back in 2007. The interesting thing about this short is that the Borderlands team went on to draw some significant inspiration from this short when setting the style for the game. Compare the intros and cel shading style to get an idea about what I mean.

I came across a whimsical and somewhat creepy take on the current state of retro gaming. Artist Greg "Craola" Simkins has a real knack for kitschy, somewhat freakish art. From paintings to graffiti, you can find a pretty sweet variety on his website, the aptly named I'm Scared. For $60, you can pick up a signed copy of this piece here, "8-Bit is Dead". Its kind of interesting that the new generations will probably consider Angry Birds to be their Pacman twenty or so years from now.

The popular action MMO DC Universe Online will become free to play on the 1st of November. While you can still choose a subscription option, the bulk of the game won't cost a cent. The way Sony plans to charge players for the game will be via a premium account model. So for example, spending $5 in the game unlocks the "premium" account. The premium content , which includes additional slots and voice chat –will be yours forever. $15 a month will get you legendary status which provides all the normal content. Players with lower-level accounts will also have the ability to purchase additional inventory slots, etc. If you've been paying/paid in the past you get premium/legendary automatically.

The game is fun. I played it during beta and was entertained but never got around to playing it during it's release. I guess now is the perfect time to give it a go.

As a celebration of all those wonderful mugs, cups and receptacles that hold our awesome drinks...This list is dedicated to all the out there designs that people have created to spice up their cups. 19 more examples after the break!

Oct 29, 2011

This is definitely a very unlikely scenario: A gaming studio commissioned Blur to create this incredibly high end cinematic for a game based off of Lewis Carroll's classic tale. If this cinematic was based off of existing designs, the game would have probably shared a really cool Disney'esque style reminiscent of their most recent animated feature, Tangled.

The interesting thing about this unreleased game is that there is virtually zero information about who was developing this title, and knowing a little about game dev cycles, cinematics are usually not created until the very end of production. Especially not cinematics that usually cost a few hundreds of thousands of dollars. This was one hell of an interesting find. If anyone knows anything about this game, please let us know.

A wonderful little track wiht a super catchy, upbeat tune that really stands out for its use of nearly retro, Vaudeville-ian sound with contemporary lyrics. The music video, directed by Hoku Uchiyama channels the retro aesthetics of early Disney cartoons like Steamboat Willie in a really unique presentation involving fogged glass. This track has been stuck in my head all day, and I'd like that to be the case with you guys too. I'm a new fan of Evelyn Evelyn, the Washington based duo behind this really unique track.

If organization tentacle implants were made available to the public, I'd be first in line to pick up a few. A fun little short about "Arranging your room," featuring some self aware tentacles with a mission.

There's been an alarmingly high percentage of cases like these documented, featuring cats speaking occult languages that place females in book on head trances. I couldn't figure out the source of the language, but the usage of 'DWAB DWAB DWAB DAWB" definitely leads me to conclude that this has something to do with some sort of East Indian Thuggee chant. Beware.

Oct 28, 2011

Daniel Kaplan (kappische on twitter) and the man behind Minecraft Pocket Edition on iOS and Minecraft on the Xbox 360 tweeted the first picture of Minecraft on iOS. Whilst available on Android, the game has not been released on iPhone or iPad yet. Personally I can't wait for it! I need another platform to play the game on, especially on the go.

I was recently made aware of this amazingly catchy track, with an incredibly fun music video to boot. The mix of very stylized 3d and 2d animation is just pure fun, mixed with the poppy tune. Despite how catchy it is, the music video never made it past a million views...Kind of bizarre. Despite that, its a perfect Friday track. The hipster keytar fox is absolutely awesome.

Did you have a chance to watch the Thing prequel? I've kind of stayed away from it after hearing some rather scathing reviews from some fans of the original, but I'd love to hear what you guys thought of it. On the other hand the preproduction art by the Aaron Sims company seems rather faithful to the feel of the original, minus showing off the original alien. That was one of the most terrifying things about John Carpenter's 1982 Thing film, not knowing what the native form of the alien was supposed to be, or who it was imitating. This type of art seems fitting for Halloween, so check out ten more concepts created for the film after the break!

There are so many fairy tale variations. They can range from the dark and rather depressing originals, to the sugary and light Disney classics. Example: The Little Mermaid dies and becomes sea foam in one version, and marries her prince with a happily ever after in the other. One guess as to which is which. Alternative endings aside, everyone seems to like to put their personal spin on one way or another, including this guy and his quirky and fun rendition of Little Red Riding Hood. "How do you enjoy those apples?"

Its kind of amazing what fandoms can create as a tribute to their favorite universes. Blizzard has spawned some IP's that have generated millions of pieces of fanart, short films and fan written fiction from their massive fanbase. This fanmade tribute to Starcraft though, absolutely takes the cake with a fully cinematic treatment. The team at Starcraft Legacy set out to create a cinematic which would match the fidelity of the official Blizzard cinematics, and came incredibly close to reaching that level of quality.

In terms of plot, the guys over at Starcraft Legacy set out to create a 7:30 fan film narrating some of the key moments from the first Starcraft, including the Brood Wars expansion. I suspect a few of these guys will be joining the Blizzard cinematics team relatively soon. Pretty damn impressive.

Oct 27, 2011

I just can't get enough of Team Fortress 2 and the multitude of events that Valve uses to keep the game engaging. I've been playing it on and off on Steam since 2009, and I typically find myself drawn back into playing it heavily around the time events like these unfurl.

Each year the game has a Halloween event which is chock full of one of a kind items, and unique events like boss battles. This year, after 2 years of the HHH (Horseless Headless Horsemann) we have a new monster, unique maps and a plethora of new items to look forward to. Well, whilst waiting for this halloween event why not give this comic a read (Through the Via link)? Or you could download TF2 (if you haven't already) considering it's free....

I love the original War Of The Worlds novel, and everything that has come out of it. This game, with excellent use of moody lighting and its heavy reliance on the original story narrative might just be the greatest version of the game outside the game based off the musical, though I expect I'm the only one who remembers it. Or remembers the musical staring Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy by Jeff Waynes. Alas, my 1990's RTS memories live on.

This newest incarnation of the War Of The Worlds stars Patrick Stewart as the journalist, and it sounds and looks like it will be a blast to play. This Halloween will involve the original radio play and this game and I can't wait to give this game a shot. The game is now available on XBLA for 800 points!

No, not the famous punk band. E4's flagship series about a group of British teenager criminals with superpowers is back for its third series.

The show revolves around a group of kids with 'ASBO's" (Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, given to British people who have broken the law) who during community service get caught up in a mysterious storm and gain super human powers.

It's a great dark comedy and I highly recommend it to anyone who watched Heroes and thought 'This show really took itself seriously". If you liked Attack Of the block, this is the super-powered show for you!

You've probably never heard of Suie Paparude, but they're definitely worth checking out. The Romanian electro group has a very distinct, dark and grungy sound that's leaning more towards big beat...I really enjoyed how the track escalated in intensity over time, creating a real sense of urgency and stress that was reflected in the video aspect. The music video itself is a very noir inspired affair, with some really cool cinematography and high production values that wouldn't feel out of place on a music channel.

Its kind of crazy to think that this amazing music video has been out for nearly a week now, and has only received a total of 300 or so views. Share it if you like it!

At some point in time I'd love to head over to Iceland during the summer to experience this incredible natural phenomenon known as the Midnight Sun. I can't even imagine how disorienting and surreal of an experience it must be to experience a full 24 hours of daylight. How hard would it be to sleep? Would staying awake longer be easier? There's only one way to find out..A trip to Iceland sometime in the near future.

This awesome clip is from a new series currently airing in the UK called "Life's Too Short," a faux reality show following the day to day life of Warwick Davis, who played an Ewok in Return Of The Jedi. Despite most of the show being fictional, it still makes references to real world events like Ricky Gervais making fun of Johnny Depp at the Golden Globes. Its an interesting 6 part series written by Ricky Gervais and Warwick Davis which features celebrities as themselves..Its all got a very, very meta vibe to it. The show is currently airing on BBC2, and will be premiering in North America on HBO in January.

Speaking of the Golden Globes if you missed Ricky making fun of 'The Tourist,' during the humorous opening monologue for the 2011 event, you can check out the entire intro speech below. To this day I really have no idea why people reacted so dramatically to him poking some fun at movies that actually sucked. I guess its an unspoken thing.

This intricate, animated metallic sculpture was created by David Cerny, and is a sight to behold. I saw an image posted online, which I confused for a 3d render...Especially due to the fact that the entire sculpture was mirrored. Seeing this thing in motion is a blast. The massive sculpture rotates, deconstructs, spits water and weighs in at a massive 14 tons. The statue resides in Charlotte, North Carolina.

This PSA from New Zealand is one of the best examples of effectively delivering the message of why not to drink and drive, conveyed via humor and relatable situations rather than relying on the typical shock factor approach. Its also an awesome look into NZ accents and slang: "Lets crash heaa bru!"

Oct 26, 2011

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection will hit PS3 and Xbox 360 on November 8th in the US and February 3rd 2012 in Europe. Today also brought another cool announcement related to this upcoming HD pack. The Collection includes Metal Gear Solid 2, 3 and a spitshined version of Peace Walker, but Konami just announced that Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2, the series' origins, will be added to this already sweet deal.

It's a shame that the first Metal Gear Solid won't be available on this pack, but I already have Metal Gear Solid on both the Playstation and the Gamecube. It's also readily available through the PSN, so I'm sure Sony probably doesn't want to lose that revenue. But I can't wait to play through this series in true HD. It's been a while since I've played 2 and 3, though I don't expect I'll be replaying 4 anytime soon.

Duck Sauce returns with another catchy track with an insanely NSFW, but absolutely hilarious music video to boot. Watch this music video at home, or else you're going to have a lot of explaining to do. I can't even find the words to describe what happens in this music video, but I have to say its the equivalent of a bad trip that won't end. This music video is absolutely deserving of our LV. 99 WTF tag, and makes that mind blowing DYE: Fantasy music video look tame in comparison. Brace yourself.

This timelapse video by Samuel Cockedey was created as a tribute to Ridley Scott and Vangelis for the inspiration they provided to him and decades of filmmakers. The timelapse is full of absolutely amazing transitions and atmospheric fades. Its a really fitting setting for that kind of tribute as Tokyo is hands down one of the most alien, futuristic cities I've ever had the chance to visit. Time to go watch Bladerunner for the 499th time..It never gets old.

It might not seem obvious, or likely..But Brandon Kitkouski works as a concept artist, rather than an illustrator or traditional painter at iD software in Dallas. According to his resume he's currently at work on the newest (and fourth) installment of the shooter that started it all, Doom. Finding him was completely incidental, and unrelated to the RAGE concept art post we did two days ago. I just absolutely love his painterly approach, color palettes and moody compositions. Check out more of his epic work after the break!

Kaiyodo's Revoltech has just been going nuts recently, picking up all kinds of big name licenses for their highly posable line of action figures. In recent history the picked up the rights to the Dark Knight, Pirates Of The Caribbean and Ironman..And now its Pixars turn. This awesome little figure is now available for preorder for $20, or 1,943 Yen on Hobby Link Japan. I just preordered a small army of these buggers. Check out more images after the break!

This recovered footage from the Space Shuttle program was recently recovered by NPR and edited into a very bizarre guide about what to do in space when you're bored out of your damn mind. Nonetheless, its a fascinating look into the off hours of astronauts back in the day. Could have done without the laugh track in my opinion.

Oct 25, 2011

Despite it's questionable realism and phone-call announce, GTA IV was one of my favourite games this generation. And why not? I love the Grand Theft Auto series and the game was fun, beautiful and everything we wanted for this generation. So this has me excited. Rockstar just announced that Grand Theft Auto V is coming out with a pre-announcement of an announcement happening on the 2nd of November. All we know right now is that the game will take place in LA and will feature multiple playable characters.

This custom poster was created by James White after getting inspired from watching the flick recently. The inspiration was to combine the look of the original poster with the aesthetics of the artist behind some of the more iconic tracks in the movie, Kavinsky. If you haven't seen the movie yet, most of us here would argue that its one of the best, and most original flicks to hit theaters in recent memory. Its still playing in theaters, so try and catch it if you can. Check out the amazing movie opening track, "Nightcall," below.

This live action ad was created to promote the cold, harsh world of Skyrim..Bethesda's newest, and much improved foray into the world of Elder Scrolls. We got to see the game during E3, and loved the newly improved graphics and gameplay especially, which added Fallout style perks. Seeing that the game isn't stylized at all, this type of trailer is perfectly fitting, and pretty badass to boot.

The Incal was created many years ago by the legendary film creator/writer Alejandro Jodorowsky (Known for some of the trippiest movies ever created) and illustrated by Moebius. The story follows a man who unknowingly comes into possession of an extremely powerful artifact which causes him to become the target of a gigantic bounty hunt The original story went on to inspire a lawsuit against Luc Besson of the Fifth Element fame, because it borrowed heavily from the world of Incal.

This newest effort by Pascal Blais is a new effort to bring the world that the legendary teamup created to the big screen, and its looking pretty awesome. That distinct Moebius style is hard to miss!

If you're fortunate enough to have an Xbox Live account, you'll be pleased to hear that Attack The Block will be available all week for rent starting today. The movie comes from the producers of fresh movies like Shaun Of The Dead and Scott Pilgrim VS The World. The basic premise? Inner city kids team up to fight off an invasion of pissed off aliens in London. Its along the same lines of Shaun Of The Dead as more of a satire than an action horror film, and from what I've heard people loved it.

I missed the screening a few months back so I look forward to catching up. It'll be available on the Xbox Live video market place for $5.

GoPro has seen some incredible success over the last few years with their extreme sports friendly 1080p cameras. Heck, I even bought one myself to see what the fuss was about and was amazed at the quality of footage I could capture with that tiny camera. GoPro just recently announced their second generation of miniature sports camera, simply named 'GoPro 2,' and traveled around the world with some of their favorite extreme sports idols to test out the new hardware. This montage is the result of the world tour..And its versatility is nothing short of mind blowing. The new camera is selling for the same price its predecessor cost ($299) and can be found on their website.

How can a high profile name, making one of the biggest projects undertaken by Hollywood have time to make an independent film based on one of the worlds most famous plays? Joss Whedon found a way.

Apparently, the Secret Whedon Project is actually a film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. The entire project was planned, written, filmed and wrapped whilst everyone was searching on Google for Avengers spoilers. According to TheWrap.com, the indie film doesn’t have distribution yet, and no dates have been bandied about for release but I expect that the film won't have any problem finding a distributor.

Oct 24, 2011

This is... an interesting way to celebrate a bachelor party (also known as a stag party). Most guys would go the bar or strip club route, but these fellas had something a little more geeky (yet primitive) in mind. A weekend of Ren. Fair-esque sports, include archery. Archery with human targets, no less. Ouch.

Very rarely do we have official merchandise Portal 2 items that the fans can purchase. Most of the time the items are really cool but are made by fans who only create one of a kind style items that usually are sold for exorbitant amounts.

But there is hope on the horizon: ThinkGeek is selling this official, adorable Portal 2 plush turret on their online store! Standing 14 inches tall this turret will quote one of many phrases when someone walks by, is pushed over or is ignored and switches off. I need 18 of the things guarding my items and belongings. It also has a glowing red eye but the site apologizes for the Turret not having dual working machine guns. The doll will set you back $29.99 and will be available mid-December.

Kenneth Scott worked at iD as an Art Director for about ten years, contributing to projects including Doom 3 and the studios most recent creation, RAGE. I haven't had a chance to play it just yet but if this art is indicative in any way of the final experience, I look forward to clearing up a weekend to play it through.

Kenneth Scott has a truly awesome, gritty rendering style mixed with a superior understanding of anatomy that gives his concepts a true sense of form. Mr. Scott just recently dumped a ton of preproduction images from his time working on the project on his Facebook page. Check out 14 more images after the break! And if you guys have had a chance to play the game, what did you think about RAGE?

Absolutely amazing sound in this music video which in my opinion is a metaphor about extravagant opulence leading to decay, excess leading to destruction. The sound is a mixture of classical music fused with electro elements, which I've seen done before..poorly. This German based trio make the hybrid of the two seem very feasible, and very fresh. This track is from their newest album, Mr Machine which you can pick up here. Enjoy!

This was a fun video put together by a camera enthusiast to show off just how incredible the onboard iPhone 4S video camera is compared to a $3,000 high end Canon DSLR. Its pretty mind blowing to see that the difference in quality is nearly negligible during a daytime test. However, take this test with a grain of salt..In terms of features and versatility in different lighting situations the Canon 5D is superior in just about every way. This video is just an interesting taste of things to come in the next few years with microcamera tech. We've come a long way since the early days of cellphone cameras (10 seconds of recording time, anyone?).

Max Hattler created a truly cool visual piece centering around the idea of a rythm defines the core of everything around us. In Max's own words: "Sync is based on the idea that there is an underlying, unchanging synchronization at the center of everything; A sync that was decided at the very beginning of time. Everything follows from it, everything is ruled by it; all time, all physics, all life. And all animation." Once you start watching it, its kind of hard to stop..I found myself completely mesmerized at the dozens of layers of synchronized patterns that appeared through the course of this video.

Oct 23, 2011

A cosplayer at this years Blizzcon who decided to give his outfit a Minecraft flavored twist. Despite it looking really cool, there's one essential aspect this guy decided to sacrifice for his outfit: Visibility. Disaster inevitably struck, and witnesses reported that no Creepers were involved in this incident.

Still, nothing can beat this....awkwardly awkward moment from last years Blizzcon. Those WoW players sure do bring disaster to fun contests!

Seo Young-Deok is a Seoul based artist who creates beautiful metal sculptures using nothing but bike chain components...And as a result all his sculptures appear to wield some type of burden from the toil of their creation. That is the mindset behind this series according to Seo, that his creations were not born of a soft clay and a soft touch..Instead their creation was through fire. A very personal series by the South Korean based artist. Check out a few more of his incredible metal sculptures after the break.

This awesome commercial for CANAL+ (Europe's equivalent of HBO) features a very passionate bear rug director sharing his passion for cinema after his many years of admiring tons of movies from his convenient place on the living room floor. Kudos to the guys who came up with the concept, its one of the more original ads I've seen this year.

With Halloween coming up, we're enjoying all things scary here at Awesome-Robo. A midnight showing of "The Shining" at our local movie theater? Yes, please! Visits to nearby haunted houses? Well, if I have a drink (or three) beforehand, sure! Redrum and cheap thrills aside, we've been finding some cool scary, and just plain out damn terrifying stuff online. The Gawper here is the latter. It's a cute, whimsical animated short of what could happen when you break into a graveyard at night. Beware...

A beautiful timelapse of the rythms of the very beautiful city of Toronto, that showcases its diversity and beauty set to the relaxed music of Clams Casino...A chill video for a lazy Sunday afternoon. Some really beautiful vantage points in this video.

Oct 22, 2011

Mark Millar (Kick-Ass, Nemesis, Civil War), Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass) & Dave Gibbons (Watchmen) held a really cool auction a few days ago. All to name a super villain in the new Mark Miller/Matthew Vaughn book.

Not much is known about The Secret Service other than Millar cooked it up with Matthew Vaughn, whose MARV Films has the movie rights to, and got Dave Gibbons for the art). In the end, the bidder won at $5,100, all going to charity. I love Mark Millar and I grew up reading comics Dave Gibbons drew (especially Watchmen) so I'm really excited for this project. Can it live to my expectations? Kick-Ass 2 has lost my interest so far, but perhaps something new in Mark Millar's style will change things up. We shall see soon enough.

Lion-O and Panthro were seen sporting fine Burberry Jackets, heading to the pub with their escort of cosmic sheep. (Via)

Fabian Ciraolo has been working on a very fun series of illustrations that in my opinion, shows off what type of stuff cartoon superstars from the eighties probably wore on their off hours. Fine tweed jackets, beautifully patterned dressed and the finest in Italian footwear...These guys had it all before their fall from grace in the nineties. Check out 6 more examples, featuring the likes of Shera, Carebears, and transvestite Thundercats after the break!

Super cool music video by Anne Lucht for the excellent lofi track by Lorenz Rhode, featuring a huge swarm of low bit alien invaders taking over Dusseldorf, Germany..A home to many pioneers in the electro field over the last few decades. Very cool work, especially in compositing the invaders into real life settings and syncing all the beats to the track perfectly.

This awesome piece of public improv comes courtesy of Toronto Improv...The premise is pretty simple: A guy dressed up in ninja garb stands out in public, with a challenge sign to fight him with a foam sword. The second a bystander picks it up, dozens of backup ninjas swarm the unsuspecting victim. That last guy came in so confident, and never saw it coming.

One of biggest and most anticipated superhero films of next year, the Avengers, was filmed on an iPhone. You read that right. According to TiPB’s Rene RitchieSeamus McGarvey, the cinematographer of the new Avengers movie, used the iPhone 4 to shoot some footage for the movie and it stayed in the final cut:

"The beauty of photography or cinema is that you make every choice based on the content at hand. On The Avengers, I did a couple of shots on the iPhone and they are in the movie. In fact, they are in the trailer! I understand that sometimes there is no choice and you have to go for the cheapest option, but if you are limited for choice, you can still make poignant decisions that will effect the look of the film."

The line between technology and mobility has become blurred over the years, and the fact that iPhone footage will appear in this movie shows how far we have progressed from bricks of phones that barely shot 12 seconds of 240p quality footage. I miss my childhood mobiles.

The thing that's pretty awesome about music videos, is that you can take them into almost any direction. A video reminiscient of cheesy 80's nighttime TV drama? Sure, why the hell not! Riton decided that was the best approach, for the music video to "Dark Place". Add in some bizarre imagery (including a creepy mutant eye baby-thingy), and you have both nostalgia and overwhelming WTF moments.

Oct 21, 2011

Nothing says class like a bright, cheap, plastic flamingo gracing your front lawn. A true beauty to behold by all in your neighborhood. They're tasteful, right? But what if the local garden gnomes were turned into savage zombies? These poultry-fiends would wreak pure havoc. At least, according to Etsy, they just might...Get one of these gruesome displays for only $55 a pop!

Manuhell, AKA Manuel Augusto Dischinger Moura (Phew) is a Sao Paolo based Brazilian concept artist who has a style that could best be described as colorful and constantly evolving. He exhibits an incredible variety of work in his portfolio, which is regularly updated with brand new explorations. Going through his gallery I watched him jump from high end concept art to colorful illustration that would fit perfectly in a childrens story book, which simply displays the fact that he continues to experiment and push himself on a daily basis. Check out more of his fantastic work after the break!

I've never heard of Icona Pop before, but this music video just made me realize they're pretty damn awesome. Another great specimen of a track to drive to, Nights Like This features a grindhouse style presentation which pays tribute to Quentin Tarantino's Grindhouse flick, Death Proof. I was especially tipped off once the girls took a break to eat a sloppy plate of Nachos, which was an infamous scene in Tarantino's flick. Enjoy this feel good Friday Track, and check out Icona Pop's website if you like their sound. Cheers.

Well damn..I really didn't see that coming. This reverse timelapse features Rick, aka Zombie Boy, an infamous tattoo aficionado removing his 'skin' as an ad for Dermablend..Pretty clever advertising, and it definitely has been getting a lot of buzz. Those makeup artists deserve some kind of damn award.

This is the movie that should be real. But alas, someone's mad editing skills tease me once again. A seamless mash-up of classic Disney animated movies, and that distinct Robert Rodriguez touch, make for one helluva fake movie trailer. There is always talk of the darker Disney underbelly, including rumored explicit words or imagery, slipped in by mischievous and/or disgruntled employees. Hell, my parents still have my copy of the original The Little Mermaid VHS clamshell case, the one with the penis on the cover. Though this video is just a fun mash-up, in my little world I like to pretend that this is just a glimspe into the darker side of Disney.

This new promo for a French comic book with heavy Japanese influence was just recently released..And its not even an actual animated series. I already want to start a petition that this get made into an animated series because I think its already got what it takes to be a winner. From what I can make out, the series is basically a Power Rangers inspired series mixed with Gatchaman and a little sprinkle of Lupin. Unfortunately, the series probably won't be reaching English shores anytime soon.

Ankama has been releasing a ton of amazing stuff recently, all with beautiful artwork. Check out our previous post about Ankama's animated series based off their MMO, Wakfu!

Things Organized Neatly is a Tumblr dedicated to aggregating themed sets of items organized neatly..The imagery is a window into another persons life, showcasing different tastes, hobbies and activities. I personally can't get enough of this stuff. Check out a few more examples after the break!

Yesterday we took a look at Spike Jonze and his short involving cloth animation, today we take a look at yet another uncommon medium for animation, markers. This animation was completely hand drawn, and its incredible how fluid the animation is considering the complexity of some of the elements present in this animation. Kudos to Kijek/Adamski for creating this animation..It probably took a damn long time to make, even if they used techniques like rotoscoping.

Did you ever want to see an uncanny valley CG representation of William Shatner's disembodied head doing a Bohemian Rhapsody cover accompanied by constellations? I'm seriously not drunk enough to try and make sense of why this was made.. its randomness in its purest, most refined form. I look forward to William's disembodied head haunting my dreams.

Oct 19, 2011

Just a day away for us UK fans, and it's hard to keep away from spoilers. I'm excited for this game: I picked it up on PS3 and I'm starting to regret it. Because this footage from the PC game has blown me away.

The footage Nvidia released of Rocksteady's latest game are comparison shots between the game running with PhysX on (running a GTX 560) and off (on an 8800 GT). They look gorgeous and make me remember why I used to game on the PC. But alas I'm stuck with my stinky POS consoles. The Dark Knight will just have to look amazing instead of gorgeous....

Nostalgia at it's best. Grand Theft Auto 3 is now 10 years old. Seems like so long ago since the game was an overhead game that allowed you to fart on people in the street, or play in London. Good times... But GTA3 evolved the formula and created a game that was not only fun, but evolved the gaming world and the way we view sandbox games.

With the game coming out on iOS devices in the near future, Grand Theft Auto 3 has a major place in most gamer hearts. And seeing those clips reminded me why I need to pick up a iPad 2 in the near future that is.

We love to support indie projects, and this week we'd like to give a shout out to Muffin Buds, a new Kickstarter incentive to create a pilot about the odd adventures of two Muffin friends in the sweet land of Buttermilk City. Think Aqua Teen Hunger Force with delicious baked goods as characters. The project comes from the minds of Eric Aldama and Rachel Yonda, two really charming and humble artists with a simple quest: To raise $5,000 in order to make their dream a reality. Eric thought up the idea on a lazy Sunday morning, and approached his highschool friend Rachel Yonda..Who has had the chance to work on projects for Adult Swim and other awesome clients.

So we ask our loyal readers, take a second and share the Kickstarter page with friends or donate! For a mere $5, you'll get a special thank you on their website...Your name engraved into an online tome for infinity and beyond. We've placed an ad for the project which you guys might have noticed on the top right which will run until the project hopefully meets its modest goal! We're rooting for these guys and really hope to see this project get the greenlight.

This track was so damn good, I posted the best unofficial music video I could find about a week back..But lo and behold, sometime last night the fantastic official music video got uploaded, so hell yes. According to the creators, the music video is a combination of Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, and Village Of The Damned minus the evil, as well as a dash of Akira. I'm in love with these guys, and I'd recommend you pick up their brand new album: "Hurry Up We're Dreaming." Get this goodness on Amazon or Itunes.

In this awesome animated collaboration that came about between Spike Jonze and the very unique designer of embroidered bags that look like first edition books, Olympia Le Tan..A skeleton and his Red haired love interest jump through some Moby Dick sized hoops to be with each other. The usage of felt as the main material for stop motion animation is just fantastic, and definitely gives this short a unique flavor.

Its an incredibly cool little side project that the two collaborated for (With the animation work of Simon Cahn) in order to have fun, and it shows...Its a lighthearted romp with plenty of dirty humor and it does a great job showcasing Olympia Le Tan's amazing creations. Check out her website here, and the making of the short after the break!

Cheesy elevator music aside, this clip of two Chinese robots playing ping-pong together is pretty f**king rad. Even better, there's a human vs. robot challenge towards the end. Does this indicate that the premise of "Real Steel" could, in fact, be real?? Nah, probably not, that's just silly. Right...?

Oct 18, 2011

A good friend of the site and film maker Steve Ruzinski has another project underway, and you can help him!

His newest project is set to be his best yet.
Steve Rudzinski has been a filmmaker since 2006 making feature films and online videos. His latest work, THE SLASHER HUNTER, was released in January of 2011 to high sales and plenty of rave reviews, including being called "A riotous little romp for fright fans everywhere" and "...a wonderful genre satire" by leading movie review site DVD Verdict. Slasher Hunter was nominated for Best Film at the Pittsburgh Horror Film Fest and continues to perform well in sales and receive positive feedback online and in the convention circuit. Now it's time for his newest project.

A pattern of similar killings occurs, leaving small towns aghast with grief and suspicion. When the massacre left Kyle's sister carved and seasoned like a Christmas ham, he vowed to solve the mystery behind the gruesome pattern of slaughter, and find out where this seemingly death-proof killer will strike next. Join us, as this tale of gore and whores spreads from town to town, person to person, and stab wound to stab wound, leaving nobody safe, because, after all....EVERYONE MUST DIE!

Many reviewers have said that he would do fantastic with an actual budget and has written a phenominal script that will be enjoyed by horror fans everywhere. By helping Steve out you may get a special mention in the credits, walk on role, be a murder victim, free DVD copy, exclusive art, etc. You can help out by donating on his kick-starter page which can be found here. If you have an interest in the project, why not donate?

With about 2 weeks left until Halloween, I couldn't wait to bust out the delightful Jack-O-Lantern pictures. What better way to celebrate National Dress Like A Slut or Tranny Day All Hallows' Eve then with perfectly posed pups and gourds?

The new My Little Pony series: A series that hit a chord with the most unexpected of audiences, males in their twenties and thirties. I checked out a few episodes to see what the fuss was about with Robogal, and we discovered a well written show that had some fleshed out, charming characters(We do our research on cultural phenomena). We didn't end up sticking it through an entire season, but got a good idea as to some aspects about its appeal.

On the flip side, Max Gilardi's animation explores a darker side of the series, touching on Applejack's binge eating, peer pressure, apple induced seizures and near death explorations of the cosmos that would make Stanley Kubrick proud. Give this man an Adult Swim show please, and check out more of his fine animations on his Youtube or Vimeo channel.

Some guy out there must have been sitting there, admiring a magazine cover one day before getting his divine inspiration that led to the creation of this new meme. I kind of predict that I'll be partaking in defacing famous noses with sharpies in order to make sure that one of the four turtles gets represented. You'll never look at a nose the same way, and the concept even spawned an amazing new gimmick Tumblr: Teenage Mutant Ninja Noses. Check out a few more Ninja noses after the break!

I absolutely love how this animated music video turned out, with beautiful animation and a line quality that reminds me of early nineties computer animation. The only thing to note, its pretty insanely NSFW, WTF and a few other things combined. It starts off innocently enough, with some kids sneaking into a pool, before it becomes absolutely batsh** insane. The only reaction I could muster was to burst out laughing at how hard the entire situation downward spiraled. That poor girl. Bravo to the director, Jeremie Perin of Truckers Delight fame for blowing my mind.

A really cool demo of an effect known as the Meissner Effect, which allows for temporary levitation of objects, as well as their manipulation in a levitated state. The video has been creating some incredible buzz online, but after a little research it turns out that this phenomena has been around for a few decades. Nonetheless, its still absolutely spellbinding to watch.

Oct 17, 2011

Takes me back. 2004 had two big Spider-man releases. Spider-Man two, by Sam Raimi, changed peoples views on how serious a comic-book movie could be without alienating a casual audience. The movie still remains one of the greatest super-hero movies of all time. And it had one of the best comic book video games ever. Before Arkham Asylum we had Spider-man 2, and we loved it. I still play it monthly because this game was revolutionary. But now? Looks like it has been replaced.

This game is based off the brand new Amazing Spider-Man film, and the footage shown is rendered IN-GAME. I can tell you that whilst some of the shine has been added post game-play, it's completely possible. And it looks so good that my anti-super-hero-outside-of-green-lantern video-game rule has just been broken. So please don't disappoint me Spider-man!

If I had the patience, this is the sort of stuff I'd be doing every weekend. This is truly an amazing stop-motion clip, one that I would assume would take forever. But it only took them 4 days! Based out of Sweden, these guys (YouTube user name rymdreglage) put this together for a company called Brainglass to be used for an exhibition.

These amazing opening credits were created for Guy Moshe's newest, hyper stylized martial action film, Bunraku by Guillerme Marcondes using a variety of paper cut out techniques, puppetry and other analog art forms. Very cool work all around. Check out the trailer for the actual flick after the break!

I've been waiting quite a while for the short film debut of Golden Filter that we posted about a while back, and I have to say the wait paid off. The result is a narrative propelled by bursts of music, beautiful visuals and a heavy, dreary atmosphere. The last group in my memory to create a film based off their music was Daft Punk with their animated epic, Interstella 5555 just a few years back.

Lovely work by Golden Filter, and you can actually hear the entire release of Syndromes on Soundcloud!

Quite an incredible news report about a robot that mimics the motions of its controllers arms and shoulders. Its a damn cool extension of their earlier exoskeleton projects from years back. With this advancement, mechs appear closer than ever to becoming a reality. The only problem is the absolutely idiotic name for such an advancement: "Ditch Witch." Seriously guys? Is that the most badass name you guys could come up with?

Oct 16, 2011

In February 2012’s Deadpool #50, the Merc With a Mouth finally finds a way to die, and with the help of writer Daniel Way and artist Carlo Barberi he’s ready to take it.

At today's X-Men: Regenesis panel during NYCC Marvel teased an upcoming story arc in Daniel Way's Deadpool series simply titled "Dead." This arc kicks off with the big issue #50 in February 2012. Whilst Marvel will be announcing more tomorrow, will they actually kill off such a cash-cow? Yes, but he'll sure as hell be back if he does. Especially if the Deadpool movie gets out of development hell...

Hazcauch is part of a Japanese collective that creates some incredible noise/glitch tracks, except the addition of the visualization by Vokoi just took this to a whole new level. There are aspects of this track that take me back to the more experimental days of Aphex Twin, but overall I think it absolutely rocks..Especially the fact that it starts out completely dissonant and progresses to form into something completely cohesive as the track progresses.

Windmills is a graduation project that was created by Guillaume Bergere, Guillaume Coudery, Bruno Guerra, Maria Glinyanova and Charlotte Jammet at the Georges Melies school. Its an absolutely stunning short that mixes 2d and 3d to give a really painterly look to the world that the characters inhabit. The plot revolves around a girl and her father, the last remaining survivors in a post apocalyptic, dying world devoid of light. Its a short about hope, and staying strong even when faced against the worst odds. Enjoy.

A fascinating little look at Las Vegas, circa 1962. Jeff Altman digitized some 16mm footage from what appears to be a couples trip to what is now considered 'Old Vegas,' Fremont Street. That's where most of the classic casinos still stand, including the Golden Nugget, Binions, Four Queens and a few others. Compared to the modern Las Vegas (Aka, 'The Strip'), you can definitely feel the history when you're on Fremont street.

Old Vegas is now known as the 'Fremont Experience,' because of the incredible roof they installed over the street that is covered in 12.5 million LCD's and supported by a 550,000 Watt sound system. I had a chance to see it in person and was pretty blown away. Check out a video of one of the shows below.

No, not like that. Perverts... Sid the Jack Russell Terrier decides to play a little bit o' fetch by himself on some outdoor stairs. He's the lazy dog owner's dream. With most dogs, you have to actually get up and move. Eww, no thanks. Sid, looks like you've got this.

Oct 15, 2011

Fantastic music video for a fantastic track by the Kentucky based rockers using good ole claymation. You can't help but feel bad for that femme Godzilla, she just wanted some human friends. Misunderstandings are such a shame, but the track is absolutely kickass to make up for the sadness this music video will probably evoke. Awesome work by Isaac Rentz on this one!

This beautiful French short won top honors back in 2010 at the Annecy awards, and with good reason. The piece was co-produced by Cube Creative and Brunk Manyoku and Tom Haugomat, and follows thestory of a champion swimmer haunted by images of childhood.

Its a little on the vague side, and its hard to make out..But in a way I believe it tells the story of somebody trying to get closure after a childhood of never quite being up to snuff in the eyes of others. In that sense I kind of found a point of resonance with the short, something to relate with. The style is really beautiful, and brought back memories of visually striking animated features likeTekkon Kinkreet and Cat Soup. Enjoy.

What on earth would inspire Kitt, Yogi Bear and a slew of other animated creatures to all team up in a yogurt ad? From what I could tell, the power of yogurt was used to transform a slew of a**holes into awesome animated creatures that bring happiness and color to an otherwise gray world. Wonderful stuff(lol).

Just when you thought it couldn't Minecraft couldn't get scarier, you have to learn not to blink. If you have no idea what I'm talking about you haven't seen the Weeping Angels, and you are lucky. They are creatures from the new Doctor Who that make grown men afraid of statues. They are statues that move when they aren't seen. And they are f***ing creepy.

This is not my ideal way to spend my time in beautiful Bali. But apparently for these guys, it is for them. Wearing helmet-mounted cameras (GoPro's, perhaps??), they climb onto the outside of an elevator. It starts to get good closer to the 1:26 mark, as they begin their ascent. Further and further it goes, until even I have a bit of vertigo.

Oct 14, 2011

This is one of the coolest inventions I've seen in a long time...A ball that can be thrown in the air, fitted with 36 cameras that takes a simultaneous 360 panorama picture when its sensors detect its reached its highest point (Deceleration at the top). Despite it looking like a toy, this concept could have a thousand different uses, even for military purposes like recon in hostile areas. You can read more about this awesome invention on Jonas Pfiel's website.

Seriously, that new Looney Tunes show is hitting all the right notes with me. This is one of the main examples why. The eighties had some pretty badass cartoons, but this just takes the damn cake. Watch and be shocked at the over the top awesomeness.

Oct 13, 2011

What can I say at this point that hasn't already been said by one of us on this blog, or elsewhere in the world? Star Wars is a shell of what it was and even with the awful edits of the original trilogy (and in my humble opinion) this film was the true downfall of Lucas's "vision". The 3D release is just that much worse.

Here we are in 2011 and you don't even use the beautiful artwork of Drew Struzan? That might have been the one good thing about the original release of the movie (excluding the awesome Podracing game that proceeded the release.) Instead we get something so tacky I'm surprised it got through the studio. What annoys me the most is that the focus is on Darth Maul who appears in the movie for less than 6 f****ing minutes.

Also interesting is the absence of several major Phantom Menace characters. Lets face it, we all hate Jar Jar, but leaving him out? Guess you don't want to sell that new line of toys that is coming out. Anakin Skywalker , Qui-Gon Jinn, Padme and C-3PO are also missing. This poster is lazy, amateur work with no thought. Well done Lucas Arts/Marketing department, you've hit an all new low.

Batman: Arkham City is released on October 21st for XBox 360, PS3 and PC and this is the first look at the Sinestro Corps skin available with the Green Lantern Blu-ray, which is out in the UK on monday.

Pretty cool hey? I liked the movie, so I get a free skin and a good movie in preparation for the game on friday, which happens to be my birthday. Just saying that's going to be one great birthday.

I'm a huge fan of the millennium series. I haven't read the book but I loved the Swedish film, and I'm looking forward to the American's interpretation of The Girl With The Dragoon Tattoo (d irected by David Fincher and starring Daniel Craig as Blomkvist and Rooney Mara as Salander.) But yes, I haven't read the book. Now I don't have to because it's coming out in a format I can understand; comics.

If you ever hear about a Mondo Mystery Night at your local indie theater...Shell out the $75...Its absolutely worth it. The concept is pretty genius, you shell out the money, get a ticket to a mysterious movie that isn't announced till you're sitting in the theater, and you receive a super rare, one time print poster designed by one of the best in the poster redesign circuit. The last Mondo Mystery Night in Austin turned out to be Akira, and viewers got a badass poster by Tyler Stout which now fetches around $1k-2k on ebay.

The latest Mondo Mystery Night series was held at Quentin Tarantino's LA based Beverly Cinema, and featured the following movies: Iron Giant, Hellraiser, Assault On Precinct 13, The City of Lost Children and The Mist. Check out the posters that Mystery ticket holders received after the break!

An awesome, incredibly well executed short by Akama Studio, a French post production studio with a simple message that should hit home for any artist out there: "Imagination feed imagination." Be inspired by others, and pass it on. That's a message we can get behind. :)

These kittehs have some mad jumping skills. It's amplified even more with a slow-mo and dubstep track (Flux Pavilion's "Bass Cannon", in case you were wondering. Of course you were). What about Bass Cannon Puppies?? Someone should make that- Oh wait, someone already has. Bass Cannon Hamsters, anyone?

Barbie is not exactly the beauty standard to which women should hold themselves to. This is no secret, and anyone with an ounce of rationale knows this already. The "love yourself for who you are" movement has already been in full swing for quite some time now. My thoughts on this: No one should hate themselves. But that doesn't mean we have to accept ourselves as overweight, or even obese either.

Gesaffelstein has a sound that could best be described as dark, gritty, filthy, pulsating and poisonous...A sound that emerged from the ruins of the Detroit electro scene. Its a menacing, heavy track that I would imagine playing in the seediest, nastiest underground clubs out there. Despite that, its still an amazing, brooding track that does a good job of getting you into a certain mindset. Love it.

Oct 12, 2011

The French electro duo return with a brand spanking new music video, which is quite a departure in my opinion from their typical noisy sound...But hell, I still love it. Its a clean sounding tribute to the 80's, glamrock, guitar solos and neverending credit sequences. Never knew they'd come in handy like that. Can't wait to see what these guys come up with next to tease their upcoming release, "Audio, Video, Disco."